Information Commissioner

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases are awaiting investigation by the Information Commissioner.

Michael Wills: The Information Commissioner is an independent body created by statute with responsibility for handling complaints made to him under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998. The Information Commissioner has provided the answer to this parliamentary question.
	At 31 March 2008, the number of cases awaiting investigation by the Information Commissioner were 1,363 for freedom of information casework and 1,237 for data protection casework.
	Additionally, due to the volume of cases referred to the Information Commissioner under data protection, there were 2,250 cases awaiting classification as at 31 March 2008. Of these cases, it is estimated that approximately 60 per cent. would be resolved within 30 calendar days and 85 per cent. within 90 calendar days.

Information Commissioner

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average length of time between acceptance of a case for investigation by the Information Commissioner and the commencement of the investigation was in the last period for which figures are available.

Michael Wills: The Information Commissioner is an independent body created by statute with responsibility for handling complaints made to him under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998. The Information Commissioner has provided the answer to this parliamentary question.
	The Information Commissioner deals with two types of cases; those that come under that Freedom of Information Act and those that come under the Data Protection Act. Between April 2007 and March 2008 the average length of time from receipt to commencement of investigation was 69 days for the Freedom of Information Act cases and 30 days for Data Protection Act cases. The average length of time to close an investigation once commenced, was 182 days from for Freedom of Information Act cases and 45 days for Data Protection Act cases.

Prisoners Release

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of prisoners serving determinate sentences were released early in each of the last five years.

Jack Straw: Table 10.3 shows the numbers of prisoners released on home detention curfew and proportion this represents out of all prisoners potentially eligible for early release under this scheme, based on the latest published data. Table 10.4 shows the number of determinate sentenced prisoners recommended for parole by the Parole Board and the proportion this represents out of all those considered, based on the latest published data.
	
		
			  Table 1 0.3 : Releases on home detention curfew 2002-06 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Number released on HDC 20,456 21,188 19,29 17,296 13,666 
			 Percentage released of potential eligible cases 37 37 35 32 26 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 10.4: Determinate sentence cases considered by the Parole Board 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Recommended for parole 3,175 3,206 3,794 3,718 2,478 
			 Percentage of cases recommended out of those considered for parole 53 53 52 49 36 
			  Source: Tables 10.3 and 10.4 in Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2006, Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	Additionally, the end of custody licence scheme was introduced on 29 June 2007 and between than and 31 December 2007 there were 16,197 releases under the scheme.
	Information about end of custody licence releases and recalls is published on a monthly basis on the Ministry of Justice website. The latest report was published on 30 April and refers to March as the reporting month.
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/endofcustodylicence.htm
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Crimes of Violence: Hertfordshire

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes involving violence against a person were recorded in Stevenage constituency in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: Statistics are not collected specifically on a constituency basis. The Home Office does publish statistics at Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area level. The number of offences of violence against the person for each of the last five years by CDRP is available on the Home Office website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/cdrpog.xls
	Also available is a look-up table that identifies which constituencies are associated with CDRPs. In many instances, a CDRP may comprise of more than one constituency. Conversely, some constituencies will come within two or more CDRPs, either wholly or partially. The look-up table is available at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/cdrp-constituency-table.xls
	Copies of both the statistics table and the look-up table are available in the Library.

Crimes of Violence: Hertfordshire

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes involving violence against a person were recorded in Welwyn Hatfield constituency in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: Statistics are not collected specifically on a constituency basis. The Home Office does publish statistics at Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area level. The number of offences of violence against the person for each of the last five years by CDRP is available on the Home Office website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/cdrpog.xls
	Also available is a look-up table that identifies which constituencies are associated with CDRPs. In many instances, a CDRP may comprise of more than one constituency. Conversely, some constituencies will come within two or more CDRPs, either wholly or partially. The look-up table is available at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/cdrp-constituency-table.xls
	Copies of both the statistics table and the look-up table are available in the Library.

Human Trafficking

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Operation Pentameter II started and finished; how many police forces were involved; how many traffickers were  (a) arrested and  (b) charged with trafficking offences; how many trafficked persons were discovered; how many of these were (i) under 10 years old, (ii) children between 10 and 18 years and (iii) adults; and of the persons discovered, how many had been subjected to (A) sexual exploitation, (B) domestic servitude and (C) forced labour.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 12 May 2008
	 Operation Pentameter 2 began on 3 October 2007.
	The fourth stage of the operation is ongoing. Operational outcomes will be published once the evaluation of the intelligence obtained and conduct of the operation is complete.

Human Trafficking: Social Security Benefits

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate her Department has made of the extent of the practice of smuggling babies into the UK for the purpose of benefit fraud; and what steps her Department is taking to prevent it.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office has not carried out an estimate of the extent of baby smuggling into the UK for the purpose of benefit fraud. However, the scoping report published by the Child Exploitation On Line Protection Centre (CEOP) in 2007 identified six children who had been trafficked specifically for benefit fraud.
	The Government are aware of isolated cases where children have been brought into the country by adults for the purpose of claiming benefits. Since October 2007 the Paladin Team, a police led multi agency child protection unit based at London ports, has investigated two individuals suspected of trafficking children for benefit fraud. These are being progressed through the Criminal Justice System.
	The Government deplore all forms of human trafficking and are determined to fight these through its UK Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking. The action plan is currently being up-dated.

Passports

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her most recent estimate is of the number of British citizens who do not have a valid UK passport.

Meg Hillier: The total number of passports issued by IPS and currently valid is estimated at 48,080,000 (an exact figure cannot be given because lost and stolen passports may not be immediately replaced).
	When this figure is compared to the current population of the United Kingdom (61,412,000) it is estimated that 21.7 per cent. of the UK population do not hold a valid UK passport.

Ballistic Missile Defence

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with  (a) his United States counterpart and  (b) the NATO Secretary-General on the prospective third site for a European-based missile defence system following the Secretary-General's speech on missile defence delivered on 5th May in Geneva.

Des Browne: The issue of ballistic missile defence is discussed routinely, both bilaterally with the United States Administration, and in NATO forums. It is not the practice of the Government to make public details of all discussions with foreign governments as this would, or would be likely to, prejudice international relations.

Departmental Manpower

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 1807-08W on departmental manpower, how many of the employees under 18 years of age are receiving at least one day's training per week.

Derek Twigg: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Catering

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the cost was of food and drink procured for working lunches attended by officials at which no external invitees were present in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Phil Hope: The Information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	All Cabinet Office expenditure on official hospitality including working lunches is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in "Government Accounting" and the Treasury handbook on "Regularity and Propriety".

Ministers: Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  what the percentage increases in  (a) pension contributions,  (b) salaries and  (c) expense allowances of (i) Cabinet Ministers, (ii) Ministers of State and (iii) Parliamentary Under-Secretaries were in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what the percentage increases in pension payments to former  (a) Cabinet Ministers,  (b) Ministers of State and  (c) Parliamentary Under-Secretaries were in each of the last 10 years.

Helen Goodman: I have been asked to reply.
	The pension contribution of Members increased from 9 per cent. to 10 per cent. of salary in April 2004 for those opting for one fortieth pension accrual. It remained at 6 per cent. of salary for one fiftieth accrual. These pension contribution rates also apply to ministerial salaries.
	Further information on current and historical rates of ministerial salaries and allowances payable to Members is available in the House Libraries.
	The increases in ministerial salaries are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Date of increase  Size of increase (percentage) 
			 1 April 2003 2.25 
			 1 April 2004 2.00 
			 1 April 2005 2.80 
			 1 April 2006 1.00 
			 1 November 2006 0.99 
			 1 April 2007 0.66 
		
	
	There was no difference in the percentage salary increases between Secretaries of State, Ministers of State or Parliamentary Under-secretaries.
	 Increases in Allowances
	All Secretaries of State, Ministers of State and Parliamentary Under-secretaries in this House are generally entitled to claim the same allowances as any other Member. The exception is that Ministers who are not provided with an official residence in London in respect of their office are entitled to claim the London supplement. They may claim this alongside the additional costs allowance if they also qualify for that allowance.
	
		
			   As at 1 April each year—Size of increase (percentage) 
			  Allowance  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Additional costs allowance 2.80 3.50 2.40 4.20 4.00 
			 Bicycle 2.78 170.27 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 Communications allowance — — — — 4.00 
			 Incidental expenses provision 2.80 3.49 2.20 4.40 4.00 
			 London supplement 2.80 59.95 2.40 6.11 3.70 
			 Motorcycle allowance — 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 Staffing allowance 3.40 8.44 3.80 3.70 3.70 
		
	
	The motor mileage allowance increased by 2.6 per cent. on 1 April 2004. From 1 April 2005 the motor mileage rate was reduced by 30.68 per cent. for the first 10,000 miles, by 56.67 per cent. between 10,001 and 20,000 miles and by 6.02 per cent. for over 20,000 miles. There has been no change to the level of the motor mileage allowance since 1 April 2005.
	As for many public pensions, the increases applied each April to pensions in payment under the parliamentary contributory pension fund, in excess of the guaranteed minimum pension, were linked to the increase in the retail prices index as at the previous September. These increases applied to pensions paid to former Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State and Parliamentary Under-Secretaries. The percentage increases for the last ten years were as follows.
	
		
			  April each year  Increase (percentage) 
			 1999 3.2 
			 2000 1.1 
			 2001 3.3 
			 2002 1.7 
			 2003 1.7 
			 2004 2.8 
			 2005 3.1 
			 2006 2.7 
			 2007 3.6 
			 2008 3.9

Population: Wirral

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what information the Office for National Statistics holds on the numbers of people resident in Wirral West constituency, broken down by age group.

Phil Hope: The information falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 14 May 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question concerning the numbers of people resident in Wirral West constituency. (205065)
	The latest population estimates for Parliamentary Constituencies in England and Wales are for mid-2005. The estimates for Wirral West constituency by age group are shown in the attached table.
	
		
			  Population estimates for Wirral West parliamentary constituency, mid-2005 (experimental statistics) 
			  Quinary age groups  Persons 
			 0-4 3,600 
			 5-9 4,300 
			 10-14 5,200 
			 15-19 5,100 
			 20-24 3,600 
			 25-29 2,900 
			 30-34 3,800 
			 35-39 4,900 
			 40-44 5,800 
			 45-49 5,500 
			 50-54 5,300 
			 55-59 5,900 
			 60-64 4,300 
			 65-69 4,000 
			 70-74 4,000 
			 75-79 3,600 
			 80-84 2,800 
			 85+ 2,200 
			 All ages 76,900 
			  Note: These mid-2005 parliamentary constituency population estimates are consistent with the published mid-2005 local authority estimates (August 2007 revisions) and have been rounded to the nearest 100.  Source: Office for National Statistics

Security: Greater London

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the Cabinet Office's Annual Resource Accounts for 2006-07, in what ways the Government Security Zone project has been delivered more slowly than expected; and what the  (a) forecast and  (b) outturn expenditure on the project was in 2006-07.

Tom Watson: During 2006-07, the Government Secure Zone (GSZ) programme was delivered with  (a) forecast expenditure of £13,351,000 and  (b) outturn expenditure of £12,767,000 (grant and non-grant) within a total income of £13,386,000 (resource and capital). The main project within the GSZ programme (the "Whitehall Streetscape Improvement" project) was delayed by three months in obtaining planning permission, resulting in a slower delivery and consequential underspend of £619,000 for the 2006-07 financial year.

Admiralty House

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 5th March 2008,  Official Report, column 2564W, on Admiralty House, what the cost of the repainting of Admiralty House for Lord Malloch-Brown's residence was after the former Deputy Prime Minister vacated the residence.

Meg Munn: The cost of repainting two bedrooms, an adjacent corridor and one bathroom in the flat at Admiralty House totalled £7,137.42 (including value added tax). Admiralty House is a Grade 1 listed building and is maintained in line with that status.

Afghanistan: Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken by his Department to improve the education system in Afghanistan.

Meg Munn: Improving access for all to quality education across Afghanistan is a critical element to our comprehensive approach to bring security, stability and reconstruction to Afghanistan.
	The Department for International Development (DfID) has the UK lead in supporting education in Afghanistan. You will be aware that DfID provides funding (£55 million in 2007-08) to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund. This fund pays the salaries of over 100,000 teachers and 90 per cent. of the Ministry of Education's wage bill. In this way DfID funding has contributed to an increase from one million pupils in 2001 to six million today, and an increase from approximately 21,000 teachers in 2001 to more than 128,000 today. In addition, since 2002, over 2,000 schools have been built or reconstructed. Officials at our embassy in Kabul work closely with the Afghan Minister for Education, parliamentarians, officials, non-governmental organisations and teachers as they work to improve education in Afghanistan.

Departmental Freedom of Information

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many freedom of information requests made to his Department were  (a) answered (i) within 20 days, (ii) within 40 days, (iii) within 60 days, (iv) after 60 days,  (b) not answered and  (c) answered citing an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as a reason not to provide the requested information in each year since the Act came into force.

Meg Munn: The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has published two annual reports containing statistical information on freedom of information requests received by monitored bodies including Central Government Departments in 2005 and 2006. These reports can be found at the following web address:
	http://www.dca.gov.uk/foi/reference/statisticsAndReports.htm
	The 2007 Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) annual report is currently being drafted for publication in June 2008. However, statistics on requests received in each quarter of 2007 have been published and can be found via the MOJ website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/freedomofinformationquarterly.htm
	The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000 requires public bodies to respond to written requests within 20 working days of receipt, but allows additional time for the consideration of the public interest in disclosing the requested information.
	The published reports provide statistics on the number of "non-routine" requests received during each period where: an initial response was provided within 20 working days; an initial response was given outside this time but a public interest test extension had been applied; an initial response was given outside this time and no public interest test extension was applied; and where no initial response had been given at the time the statistics were collected.
	The 2006 FCO annual report provides statistics on the duration of the public interest test extensions in that year. Corresponding statistics for 2007 will be available when the 2007 annual report is published.
	Information on requests where deadlines were extended beyond 40 days is not collected in the form requested; however the proportion of resolvable requests the Department answered "in time" (that is, meeting the deadline or within a permitted extension) in 2007 was 98 per cent.
	For 2005 and 2006, the reports show the number of requests received by the department which were withheld, either in full or in part, where an FOIA exemption or Environmental Information Regulations exception was applied. For 2007, the number of such requests was 254, based on aggregated quarterly statistics from 2007. Requests withheld solely under the exemption applicable to "information available by other means" are not included; statistics on these are not collected centrally because they are dealt with as routine business.

Nepal: Human Rights

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of Nepal on the observance of human rights.

Meg Munn: Throughout the recent pre-election period, the UK maintained its strong support for the work of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other local, and international, human rights organisations in Nepal. In a joint public statement, issued on the eve of elections, we noted our deep concern at the election- related killings, abductions, disturbances and intimidation which were taking place in parts of the country. We also condemned those who had sought to disrupt the elections and stressed that the people of Nepal should be able to choose their new representatives, free from fear and threat. Following elections, we will continue to urge the Government of Nepal to investigate all cases of past human rights violations and abuses, and bring an end to the culture of impunity.
	On 22 April, the UK joined an EU demarche to the Government of Nepal to protest about the violation of rights of Tibetan demonstrators in Kathmandu and elsewhere in Nepal, as well as the excessive use offeree against them. The actions by Nepalese police violated individuals' rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and we have urged a thorough investigation of these incidents.

Departmental Pensions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the unfunded liability in present value terms was of each public sector pension scheme for which his Department is responsible in each year since 1990-91.

Jonathan R Shaw: Information on liabilities in present value terms are in the scheme's annual Resource Accounts (since 2000-01) although these are produced under differing sets of assumptions (e.g. on longevity), so are not directly comparable across years. The vast majority of DEFRA staff are members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) and the Resource Accounts can be accessed via the scheme's website at:
	www.civilservice-pensions.gov.uk
	and are also available from the House of Commons Library.

Fisheries: Shellfish

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what shellfish stock assessment measures there are in respect of the six to 12 mile band of UK waters for the purpose of enabling accreditation schemes to demonstrate sustainability.

Jonathan R Shaw: There is a range of stock assessment measures in place for shellfish at regional, national and EU levels, but there are no national or EU measures which explicitly relate only to the six-12 mile zone. Sea Fisheries Committees (SFC) have introduced, or are in the process of introducing, a number of measures for the explicit purpose of gaining Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) accreditation. For instance South Wales SFC's management of the Burry Inlet cockle fishery, and North East Sea Fisheries Committee's (NESFC) attempt to gain accreditation for the local lobster fishery. These SFC measures, however, apply out to six miles only.
	While none of the aforementioned measures have been introduced specifically for the purpose of enabling accreditation schemes to demonstrate sustainability, such measures are seen as an integral part of any shellfish management plan which would be a pre-requisite for gaining accreditation.

Rural Areas: Visits

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of visits made to the countryside in  (a) the 12 months prior to and  (b) each year since the Countryside Rights of Way Act 2000 gained Royal Assent; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the provisions of the Act on the numbers of people visiting the countryside.

Jonathan R Shaw: No national monitoring of the number of visits made to the countryside was undertaken in the 12 months prior to the Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act 2000 receiving Royal Assent on 30 November 2000. However, the UK Day Visit survey 1998 estimated that there were 1253 million visits to the countryside that year.
	The Leisure Day Visits survey 2002-03 for England estimated that there were 1126 million visits to the countryside and a further 200 million to the 'seaside coast'.
	The England Day Visits survey 2005 reported that in the twelve months surveyed there were approximately 692 million leisure visits made to the countryside and a further 72 million leisure visits made to the 'seaside coast'. Of these, 21.2 million trips were made to open access land which was introduced by the CROW Act and fully rolled out by October 2005.
	Natural England is currently designing a new methodology for a day leisure visits survey and there is no further breakdown of figures available until the survey is published.
	Due to differences in the methodologies, the figures in these surveys are not directly comparable.

Further Education: Finance

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the average cost of a further education level three course is.

Bill Rammell: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) have a national funding rate for each level 3 qualification. The funding rate is based on the number of hours required to complete the course and includes a national fee assumption so that learners (not eligible for full fee remission) will contribute to the cost of the course. For the 2007/08 academic year the national fee assumption is 37.5 per cent. of the national funding rate.
	The following table sets out the national funding rate for the most popular level 3 qualifications and the national fee assumption related to that type of qualification.
	
		
			  National funding rate and fee assumption for level 3 courses 
			  £ 
			  Course type  National base rates( 1)  Fee assumption (37.5  per cent. ) 
			 Key Skills 237 89 
			 AS or A2 level (daytime study) 845 317 
			 Applied AS or A2 level (daytime study) 2,641 990 
			 GNVQ 2,641 990 
			 Edexcel/OCR National Diploma 6,333 2,375 
			 Edexcel/OCR National Certificate 5,103 1,913 
			 Access to HE 3,051 1,144 
			 (1 )Figures relate to duration of course rather than providing a per year rate as course lengths vary 
		
	
	While the national fee assumption is taken into account in the calculation of funding rates, it is for colleges and providers to determine the actual level of fee charged. It is therefore not possible to provide an average cost of a further education course to the learner.
	In relation to the cost to the Department the average cost of a full level 3 course per year has been estimated at around £1,500 per year for the financial year 2007-08.

Excise Duties: Motor Vehicles

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  which (a) cars and (b) vans will be subject to an increase in vehicle excise duty in the 2009-10 financial year, broken down by (i) make and model of vehicle and (ii) size of engine; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the proposed increase in excise duty on certain vehicles in the next financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: The information requested on each individual variant of each model of car or van could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Individual
	vehicle owners may determine the rate applicable to their vehicle in 2009-10 by reference to the vehicle's registration document and table A8a of the Budget report. In addition, cars that emit more than 225 g CO2 per km but were first registered before 23 March 2006 will be placed in Band K in 2009-10—and will continue to benefit from a reduced rate, and only in 2010-11 will these cars be placed into the band (L or M) that corresponds to the car's actual CO2 emissions.
	Treasury Ministers engage with their ministerial colleagues in shared policy areas as a matter of routine as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

Fuels: Aviation

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the revenue which would accrue in 2008-09 if value added tax were levied on aviation fuel at 17.5 per cent.

Jane Kennedy: VAT is already charged on aviation fuel supplied for flights within the UK at either the standard rate of 17.5 per cent or reduced rate of 5 per
	Cent. depending on the type and quantity of fuel being supplied. However, under the normal rules of VAT, the tax charged can be reclaimed by a VAT registered airline or other business to the extent that it relates to their taxable business activities.
	Aviation fuel supplied for use on intra-community or international flights is VAT zero-rated. However, even if our international agreements allowed the UK to impose VAT it could also be reclaimed subject to the normal rules.
	HM Revenue and Customs does not hold sufficient information with which to make an estimate of the revenue that would otherwise accrue.

Non-domestic Rates: Licensed Premises

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2008, Official Report, columns 509-510W, on valuation: licensed premises, if he will place in the Library the latest edition of the full Rating Manual.

Jane Kennedy: The Rating Manual is available on the Valuation Office Agency's website (www.voa.gov.uk).

Non-domestic Rates: Licensed Premises

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2008 , Official Report, columns 509-510W, on valuation: licensed premises, whether the section of the Rating Manual has been rewritten.

Jane Kennedy: The Rating Manual section on public houses, licensed restaurants and wine bars is being rewritten in conjunction with preparations for the 2010 Revaluation. It is intended to have this complete by the end of October this year. At that time it will be published on the Valuation Office Agency's website to replace the existing section.

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2008,  Official Report, column 899W, on the Valuation Office, what the value impact, in numerical terms, of each value significant code is, as identified during the calibration of the Valuation Office Agency's automated valuation model.

Jane Kennedy: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2007, Official Report, column 1144W, on the Valuation Office, on what dates other than 22 November 2005 the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation Programme Board (England) has met.

Jane Kennedy: The Valuation Office Agency's Programme Board for the now postponed council tax revaluation generally met monthly between March 2003 and November 2005.

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1688W, on the Valuation Office, how many households in England received a visit from a Valuation Office Agency official in each year since 2003 for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Valuation Office: ICT

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1688W, on Valuation Office: ICT, how many localities there are in each individual billing authority area in England.

Jane Kennedy: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Valuation Office: ICT

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1688W, on Valuation Office: ICT, what correspondence there is between the boundaries of localities and other  (a) local government or  (b) statistical geographical divisions.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the then Minister for Local Government on 19 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1600W.

Valuation Office: Measuring Instruments

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 1689-90W, on the Valuation Office: measuring instruments, what the reasons were for the differences in expenditure in 2007-08 and 2006-07.

Jane Kennedy: The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) undertakes various types of valuation and surveying work on behalf of a number of public sector clients for a wide range of purposes and requires the appropriate professional equipment to perform these roles effectively.
	At the end of 2007-08, the VOA placed an order for 1,100 laser measures across the network, to include both additional and replacement units, where the current units were beyond their economic life. This bulk order has contributed to the increase in expenditure on surveying equipment from 2006-07.
	Laser measures are used in all work areas, including non domestic rating, council tax and district valuer services.

Valuation Office: Measuring Instruments

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 1689-90W, on the Valuation Office: measuring instruments, if he will place in the Library the invoices for the purchases in 2007-08.

Jane Kennedy: The tendered contract price for individual items is commercial in confidence. I am therefore unable to place copies of the invoices in the Library, as they contain information regarding the cost of specific items.

Valuation Office: Measuring Instruments

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 1689-90W, on the Valuation Office: measuring instruments, who the designated supplier is.

Jane Kennedy: The Valuation Office Agency's (VOA) contracted supplier of surveying equipment is Survey Express Services Ltd (SES), based in Catford, London.

Valuation Office: Publications

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 25 June 2007,  Official Report, column 399W, on the Valuation Office Agency, if he will place in the Library copies of the Agency's staff magazine produced since June 2007.

Jane Kennedy: The Agency has produced no staff magazines since June 2007.

Welfare Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Birkenhead of 25 March 2008,  Official Report, column 42W, on tax credits, what the highest possible income is which a family which  (a) claims and  (b) does not claim the disability element for any children or adults with (i) one, (ii) two, (iii) three, (iv) four and (v) more than four children while being eligible for the child care element of the working tax credit.

Jane Kennedy: The highest level of income at which a family with maximum child care costs could benefit from the child care element depends on the number of adults and children in the household who claim the disability element, and whether they also claim the severe disability element.
	The following table shows some examples based on different numbers of children in the family, and different members of the family claiming the disability element. They are based on the maximum eligible child care costs of £175 per week for one child, and £300 per week for two or more children. All incomes are rounded down to the nearest £1,000.
	
		
			  Highest level of income at which a family could benefit from the child care element 
			  £ 
			   Number of children in the family 
			  Individuals claiming disability element within the family  1  2  3  4  5 
			 No-one 41,000 68,000 73,000 78,000 84,000 
			 1 adult 47,000 74,000 79,000 84,000 90,000 
			 1 child 48,000 74,000 79,000 85,000 90,000 
			 1 adult and 1 child 62,000 80,000 86,000 91,000 96,000

Fire Services

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she plans to publish the next version of the full business case for the FiReControl project; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: The next version of the Business Case (Version 1.1) will be published in June 2008. This will set out the full costs, savings and benefits of the FiReControl Project. A key benefit of the project is increased resilience. The Business Case will set out the details. A copy of the Business Case will be placed in the House Library.

Fire Services

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations she has received on the incorporation of fireground technology in the implementation of the FiReControl project; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: There have been no representations received on the incorporation of fireground technology in the implementation of the FiReControl Project.

Fire Services

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will include consideration of resilience issues in the next version of the full business case for the fire control project; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today (PQ 205340).

Interreg Programme

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what matched funding the Government has provided to programmes under the INTERREG III programme;
	(2)  what central funding is being provided to support the INTERREG IV programme.

John Healey: Under Interreg III the UK provided match funding to the programmes' technical assistance budgets. €3,727,142 was paid to the North West Europe Programme; €1,149,584 to the IIIC West Programme; €1,594,950 to the North Sea Programme and €870,085 to the Atlantic Area Programme.
	The ODPM also provided £5.9 million of match funding to UK partners for pre- application Interreg IIIB project and partnership activities. From 2003 to 2006, more than 48 UK-organisations benefited from an ODPM award, representing 43 projects across the three Interreg IIIB Programmes. The majority of organisations receiving OPDM awards were in a project-lead position.
	The Government will not be providing match funding for individual projects in the new programmes. But we will be contributing towards programme technical assistance budgets. The amounts for the 2007 to 2013 programme period are:
	
		
			  Project  Funding (€) 
			 Interreg IVA 3,720,000 
			 Interreg IVB (including Interact) 5,045,476 
			 Interreg IVC 1,011,155 
			 Total 9,776,631

Departmental Databases

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what audits his Department and its agencies have carried out in relation to personal data and IT equipment in each of the last 10 years.

Ben Bradshaw: Information on audits is held for the Department and its agencies, NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (NHS PASA) and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as follows:
	 Department
	Data Protection Act—2001;
	BS7799 (now ISO 27001)—every six months from the end of 2002 to November 2007;
	System Security In Departmental Information Technology (IT) Applications—2004;
	Freedom of Information—2006
	Information Security—2007
	 NHS PASA
	The Agency was created in 2000 and since inception has been audited annually on all matters of governance including information security and data protection.
	Since 2001 it has been audited twice yearly by British Standards Institute to ensure compliance with IS027001.
	The most recent audit was in January 2008.
	In addition the security of personal data is particularly emphasised in all audits.
	 MHRA
	2002-03 (pre-MHRA)—Data Protection Act and Systems Security;
	2003-04—Assets and Inventories (including IT equipment);
	2004-05—Information Management;
	2005-06—Freedom of Information and IT Security;
	2007-08—Assets and Inventories (including IT equipment) and IT Core Controls.
	 NHS Connecting for Health
	The personal data of staff employed by NHS Connection for Health is managed under direction of the Secretary of State for Health by the NHS Business Services Authority, Data Protection is managed by them in accordance with the Data Protection Act.
	Mobile devices are audited on an annual basis—based on financial year. Audits begin in January and conclude in March.
	The ongoing audit of servers and network equipment, including both hardware and software is undertaken every three months as a consolidation exercise is in progress. Once the consolidation is complete, the audit will take place every six months and take approximately two weeks to complete.
	Clear desk audits are carried out quarterly in every building to ensure compliance to physical security of IT equipment.
	PC hardware is audited on an annual basis—based on financial year. Audits begin in January and conclude in March.
	First Information Security Audit—completed October 2007.

Maternity Services: Official Visits

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which maternity units Ministers in his Department have visited in the last 12 months; on what date each visit was made; and which Minister made each visit.

Ann Keen: My right hon. Friend, the Member for Kingston upon Hull, West and Hessle (Alan Johnson), visited the maternity unit at the Royal Victoria hospital, Newcastle to launch the Maternity Campaign on 25 February 2008.
	I visited the neonatal unit at St. Peters' hospital in Chertsey, Surrey on 31 July 2007. I also visited the antenatal clinic at the Luton and Dunstable hospital on 15 November 2007.
	My hon. Friend, the Member for Bury, South (Mr. Lewis), visited the maternity unit at the Whittington hospital, Highgate, London on 5 February 2007.
	My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lord Darzi), made a brief visit to the maternity unit at Tiverton hospital on 9 October 2007 while visiting other services at the hospital.
	My hon. Friend, the Member for Exeter (Mr. Bradshaw), visited the antenatal and postnatal clinic at the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital on 6 July 2007.

Medical Equipment: Hygiene

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment his Department has made of the  (a) effectiveness and  (b) efficiency of decontamination services within the NHS.

Ann Keen: National surveys of the quality systems related to effectiveness and efficiency of both national health service and independent sector suppliers of decontamination have been undertaken since 1999. The most recent published report is 'The Decontamination of Surgical Instruments in the NHS in England - Update report - A step change', published in June 2005. This demonstrates improvements in virtually all areas of quality systems and control over the 1999 to 2004 period. Copies of this publication have been placed in the Library.
	The Chief Medical Officer has requested a further survey during the present year. This is referred to as the National Decontamination Survey 2008 and is currently in progress. The survey will visit some 35 NHS trusts including several which use commercial suppliers of decontamination services. The trusts have voluntarily agreed to take part and the focus is on those institutions, which pursue high-risk tissue surgery in respect of the theoretical risk of human prion disease transmission. It is expected that the full survey will be complete by August 2008.